Scary Forest Pests
Happy Halloween everyone! I don’t know if anyone will be dressed up like an Emerald Ash Borer for Halloween, like our Project Wild America Youth Ambassadors were for their invasives community outreach event over the summer, but we should be on the lookout for these and other scary pests on this Hallow’s eve. While tonight will be fairly warm, the cooler weather is on its way and the need for firewood will increase. As you cut or buy wood to heat your home for the winter or get that last camping trip in before the snow flies, you should be aware of where your wood is coming from...
Read MoreBackyard Botanical Bothers
New York Invasive Species Awareness Week – NYISAW Backyard Botanical Bothers Wednesday July 13th, 2016 – 11am – 1pm – 108 East Third Street, Jamestown What are those green things growing in your neighborhood, and what’s living on them? Are they native to this area or are they invasive pests? What does it matter? Meet us in front of RTPI’s new satellite office at 108 East Third Street, to learn a thing or two about ‘Backyard Botanical Bothers’ – specifically which plants and insects mean trouble for our ecosystem – and what you can do if you encounter them. RTPI’s Project Wild...
Read MoreOff to a Great Start
They say time flies when you’re having fun, right? Well I can say time has certainly been flying here at RTPI as the summer field season is now underway. So far, I’ve spent much of my time working with our Project Wild America Youth Ambassadors in the city of Jamestown as we continue the work we started last year. We are conducting more in depth studies of this urban ecosystem, and so far the PWA Youth Ambassadors have been diving in, quite literally, eagerly learning more. Although we have just completed our second week with our students, I anticipate the rest of the summer...
Read MoreEmerald Ash Borer Monitoring
New York Invasive Species Awareness Week – NYISAW Emerald Ash Borer Monitoring Tuesday July 12th, 2016 – All day around the City of Jamestown Since the arrival of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) to the United States, many agencies and organizations have been working to detect the presence and combat the infestations of this invasive insect. Within New York State, one method deployed by the Department of Environmental Conservation is the erection of purple prism traps in ash trees. These traps, easily recognized by their purple color and attractive due to their stressed ash tree lure, have been used...
Read MoreConnecting with Our Forests
While old man winter seemed to have taken a break this past season, we certainly did not as there was much work to be done! As you likely saw, we spent much of this past winter season getting into the field to survey for Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae), an invasive insect threatening our local hemlock trees (Tsuga canandensis) and forests. Throughout the course of our field work and educational outreach programs, we not only had the opportunity to spread the word about this pest in attempts to slow the spread of it into our area, but also had the opportunity to learn a lot more about...
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